On June 17, China Minmetals Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Tungsten and Hightech Materials Co., Ltd. signed a letter of intent on cooperation with Sandvik AB (hereinafter referred to as “Sandvik”) in Beijing. Zhou Zhongshu, President of China Minmetals, and Olof Faxander, President and CEO of Sandvik, attended the signing ceremony and gave speeches respectively. Li Fuli, Vice-president of China Minmetals also attended the signing ceremony. Yang Bohua, Deputy General Manager of China Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals Holdings Limited (hereinafter referred to as “Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals Holdings”) and Director of Tungsten Business Headquarters, signed the letter of intent on cooperation with President Olof Faxander of Sandvik and Jonas Gustavsson ,President of Sandvik Machining Solutions on behalf of both parties. According to the agreement, both parties will cooperate in cutting tool field by setting up a joint venture. Deputy General Manager Li Zhongze of Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals Holdings presided over the signing ceremony.

In the speech, President Zhou, on behalf of China Minmetals, expressed warm congratulations on the signing of the letter of intent on cooperation between Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide and Sandvik and extended warm welcome to representatives of Sandvik from afar. President Zhou emphasized that the signing of the letter of intent is the witness of deepened business cooperation between both parties and a big event of “alliance between giants” in global tungsten industry.

President Zhou said that China Minmetals is China’s largest multinational group engaged in mining, smelting, production and circulation of base metal and bulk raw materials. In 2013, China Minmetals realized business revenue of RMB414.7 billion, ranked No. 192 in Fortune’s Global Top 500 List, and was put in the “List of the World’s Most Admired Companies” for the first time ranking No. 5 in metal industry. As one of the earliest enterprise engaged in import and export trade of tungsten commodities in China, China Minmetals has established the whole industry chain business model integrating tungsten resource development, cemented carbide production and tungsten commodity trade, and ranks No. 1 in terms of tungsten resource reserves and tungsten concentrate capacity in the world. Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide is a flagship enterprise of China Minmetals engaged in cemented carbide industry, and its output and sales and innovation capability take a leading position in China. Sandvik is a multinational company with a history of over 150 years, being the leader in the world’s cemented carbide tool industry and an enterprise highly respected and admired by China Minmetals. In recent years, under the leadership of President Olof Faxander, Sandvik has made very impressive achievements in global layout and strategic adjustment.

President Zhou said that both parties will cooperate in manufacturing and sales business of cutting tools by setting up a joint venture under the background of steady growth of global cemented carbide market and more intense industrial competition, and hoped that both parties will share the opportunities of market growth through cooperation and enhance respective competitiveness in global market through complementary advantages and close cooperation to realize the goal of win-win. At last, President Zhou wished a complete success of project cooperation.

President Olof Faxander, on behalf of Sandvik, expressed sincere gratitude and congratulation to teams of both parties for the efforts made for the signing, gave a brief review of the history of friendly cooperation between both parties since the 1980s, evaluated the important significance of business contacts between both parties for economic and trade cooperation between Sweden and China, and expressed sincere gratitude to China Minmetals and Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide for strong support offered to Sandvik. He believed that products and services with high performance, high cost performance and high value added can be created for customers through this cooperation, and the development of China’s machinery manufacturing industry will be promoted. At last, President Olof Faxander expressed his expectation for the project cooperation in Chinese: “祝马到成功” (meaning “I wish us success”).

Yang Bohua, the Deputy General Manager of Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals Holdings and Director of Tungsten Business Headquarters, signed the letter of intent on cooperation with President Olof Faxander of Sandvik and Machining Business President Jonas Gustavsson of Sandvik on behalf of both parties.

Before the signing ceremony, President Zhou and Vice-president Li held talks with a group led by President Olof Faxander. Both parties watched China Minmetals’s propaganda video (in English) together and communicated on establishment and promotion of the joint-venture project.

Founded in 1862, Sandvik is the world’s most advanced manufacturer of cemented carbide, mining tools, building materials and advanced materials, and the world’s largest cemented carbide manufacturer. It is headquartered in Sandviken, Sweden, with offices in over 130 countries, and owns about 47,000 employees. In 2013, it had a turnover of SEK87 billion (about RMB81.35 billion).

Such personnel as Zong Qingsheng, the President Assistant of China Minmetals and General Manager of Investment Management Department, Jiao Jian, the President Assistant of China Minmetals and General Manager of Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals Holdings, Li Zhongze, the Deputy General Manager of Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals Holdings, Sun Congxue, the Deputy Director of Tungsten Business Headquarters of Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals Holdings, and Wu Guogen, the General Manager of Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide, participated in the abovementioned activity.